I bought a Pixel 4a one month ago.

[PeytonBirch]

My phone broke and figured I'd buy a cheap phone until I get the next flagship that appeals to me. I settled on the Pixel 4a. Although I had some reservations from reviews:

Some said slow (MKB)

Some said the video was bad and the audio wasn't great

Just one camera

It's small https://speedtest.vet/

So the results?

When I first got it one thing stood out: This phone is slippery as #*! I needed to get a case right away as a drop was coming.

The speed? It's very fast compared to older phones. I think tech reviewers are used to comparing top line products and not realizing users upgrade from older phones. The speed on this phone is great.

Fingerprint censor is great and super responsive

Audio is loud when listening to music, which surprised me. Many said it was weak. But the sound from recordings is pretty bad. I often record audio (guitar/songs) and it's very tinny...so that's a bummer.

The battery is very good! I am pleasantly surprised. I always get an all day use with room to spare.

The size is small, but as I said, it needs a case so with the case it fits perfect in the hand.

Storage is great too with 128G

Overall, for the $350 price and a headphone jack, I can't believe the value. A super phone at this price!

[hrym]

With flagship devices now coming in aroung £1000, it's worth consdiering what you really need.   Yes, you will get the fastest processor, a huge amout of RAM and storage, an achingly high definition screen and a camera that will be the envy of professional photographers, but do you need all that?   Your phone is still a pocket-sized device (not an 80 inch 4K TV) and still a phone, not a top of the range SLR.   You may have a large music collection, alhough you're probably streaming anyway and as for photos, well they're backed up in the cloud.  Aren't they?  Yes, if you play large interactive games, processor speed and RAM may be siginficant, but you might also be surprised by what's available further down the price band.

The truth is that even something costing around £200 will almost certainly outclass the flagships of 4 or 5 years ago, none of which were exactly slouches.  True, you won't have bragging rights, but are those worth £600 - £800?